9781250209153

10
The night is quiet and bare: a vacuum of sound. It must be chilly, but I don’t
notice it, either because I’ve been drinking or because my blood is boiling,
or maybe both. I hold Irene’s hand until we make it past Charlotte’s front
walk. She stops cold and pulls her hand away.
We square off, facing each other. Her chest is heaving; her eyes are
daggers.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly.
She glances away. “Like I said.” Her voice is eerily calm. “You’re
arrogant to think you understand my enemies better than I do.”
I swallow. “You’re right.”
Danielle and Honey-Belle catch up to us at the car. Honey-Belle falls all
over Irene, petting her hair and asking if she’s okay.
“I’m fine,” Irene says flatly, holding Honey-Belle at arm’s length.
“Please stop smothering me.”
“Charlotte Pascal is trash,” Danielle says. Her eyes take on that
destructive look she gets on the basketball court, but she looks
unexpectedly at Irene. “You’d better be sincere about being gay, though.
You can’t fake liking girls for votes.”
“Of course she’s sincere,” Honey-Belle snaps. “You don’t know the
process she’s gone through—you can’t imagine the internalized
homophobia—”
“My best friend is gay, too, Honey-Belle,” Danielle says loudly. “So
you’ll understand if I want to make sure she’s not being led along by this
whole thing.”